The Midnight Library - Matt Haig - ★★★.¾

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AUTHOR: Matt Haig
GENRE: Philosophical Fiction, Fantasy
PUBLICATION DATE: August 13, 2020
RATING: 3.75 stars.

Remember “Dark Matter” by Blake Crouch? Every decision taken spawns into a multiverse and thereby results an endless chain of multiverses springing from decisions. What if, in your dominant life, you are always worried about the decision not taken, always burdened with the regret of what-ifs? Would you like a second chance at those decisions? Will you find the other life satisfactory, suitable, even perfect? That is essentially the theme of “The Midnight Library”. But written in a much, much better manner than “Dark Matter”.

The lead character of Matt Haig’s latest book, Nora Seed, is a depressed woman in her mid-thirties. One fine evening, she realises that there is no one left in her life who needs her. As she is already struggling with her sense of self-identity and self-acceptance, this final rejection makes her take the desperate step of committing suicide. Only, instead of finding herself in heaven or hell or any other preconceived religious destination, she appears to be in the midnight library, a place where she has the option of revisiting her life events, re-evaluating her choices, and reliving her what-ifs.

Other than “Dark Matter”, some parts of the book reminded me also of “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom. However, Matt Haig seems to have eliminated the flaws of these books and added his own twist to them.

As some of you might know, Matt Haig himself is a survivor of depression and panic disorders and his book “Reasons to Stay Alive” narrates his struggle with the illness, how he was almost on the verge of suicide, and how he battled back to life and some sort of normalcy. He incorporates his learnings and realisations in “the Midnight Library” in a very heartfelt manner. The result is a reflective read that makes you cross-question your own life decisions and accept your life for what it is rather than for what could have been.

Of course, you can sense the direction the book is taking, even becoming a little repetitive and predictable in between. But to those who appreciate fiction with a temperance of philosophical thinking and self-introspection, this book will be a worthwhile read. After all, who among us doesn’t have regrets? But the book will teach you to accept those regrets as a part of growth and move on. It teaches us that every step we take in our life can be a beautiful beginning if we don’t weigh it down by expectations, both of ourselves and of others. There’s no point living a life of regrets and what-ifs. Simply accept what happened, learn from it, and move on!

Go for this whenever you want a relaxing, thought-provoking and inspiring fictional novel.

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